The Ridgewood News All-Suburban Football Offense

RIDGEWOOD — In a season that featured a changing of the guard at the top of the high school football polls, St. Joseph unseated Don Bosco as the top team in New Jersey. The Non-Public Group 3 champion Green Knights also top the All-Suburban first team offense with four players, one more than Bergen Catholic.

Ramapo, the North 1, Group 3 champ, is the only other team with multiple representations, placing two players on the 17-man unit that is made up of 15 seniors and two juniors. The top squad is rife with record-setting performers, as no fewer than eight players have risen to the top of their schools’ single-season or career lists.

Four selections repeat on the first team: Jon Germano of Bergen Catholic, Jabrill Peppers of Paramus Catholic, Will Rodriguez of Bergenfield and Ricky Jeune of St. Joseph. Jeune’s teammate, Joel Campo, ascends from the 2011 second team.

Two other first-teamers make their second All-Suburban appearances overall: Ridgewood’s Young Hoe Koo was a second-team placekicker in 2009, and Pascack Valley’s Kyle Schneider was the 2010 Sophomore of the Year.

Nolan Borgerson of Westwood and Ron Kruis of Waldwick/Midland Park share the 2012 Sophomore of the Year Award, and Pascack Valley’s Craig Nielsen is the Coach of the Year.

The individual profiles:

JON GERMANO, Bergen Catholic — This senior from Hawthorne finished the best two-year run of any quarterback in North Jersey annals after being converted from a running back in 2011. In leading the Crusaders on their third straight trip to the Non-Public Group 4 state final, he rewrote the record books with 197 completions in 319 attempts for 3,139 yards and 38 touchdowns, all single-season school records.

In addition, Germano set a single-game record with his 397 yards passing against Friendship Academy (D.C.), one of four 300-plus passing efforts, and he also ran 148 times for 513 yards and 10 touchdowns on the year. He leaves as the owner of all Crusader career passing records, including completions (358), attempts (592), yards (5,498) and touchdowns (69).

ANTHONY LoVECCHIO, Ramapo — In his second year with the Green Raiders after transferring from Bergen Catholic (and his first as the full-time starter), this senior brought his team to a 10-2 mark and a state championship with a brilliant campaign, during which he eclipsed a number of school records.

LoVecchio had 202 completions (tops in the state) in 307 passes for a 65.8 percentage, throwing for 2,484 yards and 26 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. His 34 completions and 50 attempts in the North 1, Group 3 title game against Sparta are single-game school records, and he added seven rushing touchdowns during the season, gaining 235 yards on 48 carries.

KYLE SCHNEIDER, Pascack Valley — The Indians’ run to the North 1, Group 4 final was fueled by the record-setting performance of this senior signal-caller. He broke the single-season school marks for passing yards (2,145) and touchdowns (26), completing 120-of-219 passes with only three interceptions, and he also set a single-game record with 307 yards and five touchdown passes against Demarest.

A three-year starter, Schneider is far and away the career leader at the school with 5,004 yards passing and 54 touchdown passes, and the team’s record with him starting under center is 25-8.

JABRILL PEPPERS, Paramus Catholic — This junior’s much-ballyhooed transfer from Don Bosco to PC gave the Paladins (10-2) the final piece of the puzzle they needed to win their first state crown since 1997 and first ever in Non-Public Group 4. The Midland Park resident spent the first month of the season with a limited workload before taking over in the Wildcat offense, and he rushed for 1,552 yards and 18 touchdowns on 172 carries, including a school single-game record 368 yards against St. Joseph.

Peppers also had 20 receptions for 337 yards and five touchdowns to go along with 88 yards passing and 105 return yards (punts, kicks and interceptions combined), good for a grand total of 2,082 all-purpose yards. He was a force on defense, too, totaling 77 tackles, one sack, three interceptions and a forced fumble, and for his career, he has 284 carries for 2,461 yards and 39 touchdowns, plus 32 catches for 432 yards and six scores.

WILL RODRIGUEZ, Bergenfield — The resurgence of the Bears’ program was, in large part, a product of this senior’s running ability. Rarely brought down on the first hit, he was as elusive as he was strong once in the second level, and he possesses the speed to run away from defenders.

Rodriguez racked up a school-record 1,903 rushing yards on 222 carries with 21 touchdowns, with four 200-plus-yard games and a single-game record 315 against Northern Highlands. He also had seven receptions for 106 yards and added 81 tackles (62 solo) as a defensive back with six sacks and two pass breakups. He closed a three-year career as Bergenfield’s all-time leading rusher with 3,903 yards.

DANTE TOBLER, New Milford — A three-year starter for the Knights, this senior is now No. 1 in all of the rushing categories at the school. A power runner with speed and slashing ability, he ran for 2,075 yards on 284 carries with 27 touchdowns, including a 93-yarder, with all being school records. He also had 16 catches for 185 yards and three scores and completed 2-of-2 halfback option passes for 40 yards and two touchdowns.

On defense, Tobler made 42 tackles (37 solo) with an interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery, and at punter, he averaged 36.4 yards on 22 kicks, dropping five inside the 20-yard line. For his career, he tops the program charts with 4,422 yards rushing and 53 touchdowns, while also amassing 31 catches for 437 yards and six scores and throwing three TD passes.

RICKY JEUNE, St. Joseph — A big-play receiver, this senior from Spring Valley, N.Y. used his 6-foot-3 frame to shield defenders from the ball or go up high to snare passes. His speed was also a factor leading to his 36 catches for 882 yards (24.5 per catch) and 10 touchdowns (two in the Non-Public Group 3 final against Delbarton), with 11 of those receptions covering 30 yards or more.

As a defensive back, Jeune had 30 tackles (16 solo) and two interceptions, one of which he brought back for a touchdown against Wayne Hills. In his three-year career, he totaled 109 catches for 2,227 yards and 28 touchdowns, and his possible college destinations include Georgia Tech and Purdue.

J.J. KULCSAR, Bergen Catholic — This senior obliterated the Crusader receiving records, nearly eclipsing the top career numbers in one season. Included was the catch of the year, which he clutched to the back of a Friendship Academy defender before teammate James Dawson grabbed the ball and ran it in for a touchdown. The 6-2, 180-pounder later caught the winning TD in overtime of the same game.